A Study On Modern Chinese Opposite Compounds

The opposite compounds in modern Chinese are a group of paratactic compound words, each of which consists of two monosyllabic morphemes opposite in meaning. The small proportion of these words in modern Chinese is determined by the manner of the word-formation, but these words still have important roles in the Chinese vocabulary system.Firstly, this dissertation defines the opposite compounds strictly as coordinative compounds. And then according to it, we collect many example words from The Modern Chinese Dictionary. Moreover, the particularity of the opposite compounds' formation-opposite meaning of the morphemes, brings on the necessity for us to redetermine whether the elements of the words really possess the opposite meaning by means of system, sense, pragmatics and grammar.The second part of the dissertation deals with the classification of the morphemes which make up the opposite compounds from such point of view as the signification, syntax and sense and gives an account of the research on the formative approach of the meaning of the opposite compounds. Through the contrastive analysis on the meaning of the morphemes and words in the sense of the compounds and grammatical character, it indicates the semantic features of the opposite compounds.Finally the dissertation copes with the reasons why this particular vocabulary phenomenon-the opposite compounds arise in the history. The great development of binary-syllable words for the demands of language communication is the indispensable factor of the generation of the opposite compounds. On the other hand, the widespread application of these words is also promoted by the psychology and thinking cognition of the traditional Chinese culture and by the rhetorical style of writing of the ancients.